Thinking about who was very influential in high school, I was unable to come up with anyone. My teachers were all great and I had a good connection with all of them, but I wasn’t really close with them. Then I realized that I didn’t have to be close to a teacher to have them impact me in a very big way. There is one teacher that impacted me more than he will ever know, and he was my 11th grade English teacher, Mr. Stanford.
In my high school, you get asked to be in the honors English classes started freshman year and I was asked to be in honors freshman and sophomore year. However, English has never been my strongest subject and I believe my sophomore year teacher realized that and placed me out of honors for 11th grade. I was so angry with her because I really thought I would be able to handle it. Little did I know that not being in honors was probably the best thing that happened to me in high school. I was placed into Mr. Stanford’s 6th period regular English class and I was instantly changed.
Mr. Stanford never got angry if you didn’t understand the assignment and he helped you with whatever you needed, but never really held your hand through it all. He was there for support without babying you, which was exactly what I needed. My writing was never strong and after his class, although I’m not the greatest writer yet, I like to think that I have improved greatly because of him. Instead of telling me what to write and how to write it, he would ask me questions. For example, “Kaitlyn, what do you think you could do to make this introduction stronger?” which caused me to reflect more on my own writing and improve it with him rather than just correcting what he marked wrong. It was the greatest thing for me and I ended up getting a 98 on my NY State English Regents test which was the test I was most nervous for.
Mr. Stanford ended up writing my college recommendation letter and helping me with my college essay, both of which I feel are the most important in the admissions process for college. Without his help and encouragement I don’t think I would have been accepted to all the schools I applied too. He has helped me in more ways than he will ever know and I thank him for all he has done for me. When I go home and visit teachers in high school like most kids do, he will be first on my list.
High School Experiences
Thinking about who was very influential in high school, I was unable to come up with anyone. My teachers were all great and I had a good connection with all of them, but I wasn’t really close with them. Then I realized that I didn’t have to be close to a teacher to have them impact me in a very big way. There is one teacher that impacted me more than he will ever know, and he was my 11th grade English teacher, Mr. Stanford.
In my high school, you get asked to be in the honors English classes started freshman year and I was asked to be in honors freshman and sophomore year. However, English has never been my strongest subject and I believe my sophomore year teacher realized that and placed me out of honors for 11th grade. I was so angry with her because I really thought I would be able to handle it. Little did I know that not being in honors was probably the best thing that happened to me in high school. I was placed into Mr. Stanford’s 6th period regular English class and I was instantly changed.
Mr. Stanford never got angry if you didn’t understand the assignment and he helped you with whatever you needed, but never really held your hand through it all. He was there for support without babying you, which was exactly what I needed. My writing was never strong and after his class, although I’m not the greatest writer yet, I like to think that I have improved greatly because of him. Instead of telling me what to write and how to write it, he would ask me questions. For example, “Kaitlyn, what do you think you could do to make this introduction stronger?” which caused me to reflect more on my own writing and improve it with him rather than just correcting what he marked wrong. It was the greatest thing for me and I ended up getting a 98 on my NY State English Regents test which was the test I was most nervous for.
Mr. Stanford ended up writing my college recommendation letter and helping me with my college essay, both of which I feel are the most important in the admissions process for college. Without his help and encouragement I don’t think I would have been accepted to all the schools I applied too. He has helped me in more ways than he will ever know and I thank him for all he has done for me. When I go home and visit teachers in high school like most kids do, he will be first on my list.